Spring 2018 – Midseason Impressions

Am I the only one who wants to drop Tokyo Ghoul: re at this point?

At this point, I think Winter 2018 is the better season for a fact that it has a lot of good new shows. But that could be me still in shock how good that season was. Anyway, Spring 2018 is a very decent block. It has the current AOTY for me (it’s not Steins;Gate) and somehow I did not drop even a single show this time.

However, there end the pleasantries. The rest of these shows never go beyond ‘good’ or ‘spine-chilling’. I need a Eureka moment that would flip these offerings from ‘ah-okay’ to ‘wow this is great!’. So far, you get awesome action, some good character moments and a wildly fluctuating Darling in the Franxx.

Anyway, I will keep this post short. Here’s my mid-seasonal ranking for Spring 2018.

1. Megalo Box – The first series in 2018 that I am seriously eyeing to include in my all-time list, Megalo Box kind of succeeded in mixing the classic anime aesthetics you see in the early 2000s while having a feel of a current seasonal show. The pacing is good, characters are written beyond caricature and I am glad they sort of decided to derail Joe’s trajectory to Megalonia. Sorry Violet Evergarden and Sangatsu no Lion, this is my AOTY at this rate.
2. Hinamatsuri – The comedy kind of sucked for a while now but boy the feels are too strong for my heart to handle. Yet then, Hinamatsuri is becoming a feels porn. Quite exploitative for poor Anzu but it worked given her character.
3. Golden Kamuy – Just ignore the fucking CGI bear already. Also, Shiraishi is fun.
4. My Hero Academia, Season 3 – The show is good, but that’s like saying water is wet. Oh, the first episode sucked. That’s all.
5. Stein’s;Gate Zero – This is quite turning to become a disappointment, no? While I complain about the lack of plot in the first season’s first half, Zero injected TOO MUCH plot this time. Who to care this time? What backstory to explore in the episode? You are giving us way too much! Also, the animation sucked. I did not remember the 2011 prequel looked this bad.
6. Darling in the Franxx – And boy, the most talked about show this season surely moves in a glacial pace. I do not mind that much though since it is busy making a mess out of its characters in a good way.
7. Lupin III – Part V – I still think it is inferior to its Italian prequel last 2016 but I appreciate the ever-changing artwork to reflect the Lupin it is paying tribute to. Nothing much to say except that Lupin is a damn fun show to watch.
8. Legend of the Galactic Heroes – The New Thesis – The four consecutive Yang Wen-li episodes really made this show an upper tier thing this season. Damn, I need a Yang Wen-li series real soon. Perhaps his cool and calculated stance are what draw me in but the man is hot err.. smart. This may move to the upper echelons even further if Yang further becomes prominent.
9. Wotaku ni koi wa Muzukashi – This is where the shows get really good, like the AOTS kind of good. I am still experiencing whiplash in terms of episodic quality in this show. The funniest moments are LOL-worthy but then you got episodes 2 and 5, which the production staff thinks that the voice over in video games is still fun to use as a comedic tool. I am pretty triggered seriously.
10. Persona 5 – the Animation – Persona 5 does not make much sense but the show is never boring. A-1 is murdering the production values though. Why not give it to Production IG since the bosses will be rendered in CG anyway?
11. Amanchu!! Advance – This Winter 2018 leftover (lol) is fine but can be boring without the diving plot. Yet it is Winter in their timeline so they cannot just dive into the sea without getting hypothermia I guess.
12. Sword Art Online Alternative – GGO – I intended to put SAO in my top 5 until the ridiculous plot of Pitohui being a crazyhead kicked in. The moment M divulged the plot, I seriously cursed out of disappointment and shock how the author managed to make this otherwise good spinoff look like a canon to the original series. Fuck this.
13. Tada-kun Never Falls in Love – Hmm? The melancholic backdrop about unrequited love is quite interesting to inject in a series where being cute is its biggest weapon. That said, it depends whether you like the characters or not. It just so happens that I like the characters enough to watch the show on a weekly basis.
14. Full Metal Panic – the Invisible Victory – Eh? This show needs a chill pill. IT. JUST. DOES. NOT. STOP. GOING. ON. A plot based offering has to grab the audience or contains at least a character we can root for. Unfortunately, Tessa isn’t around (at least prominently) and Chidori is still missing. Sagara is cute, but that’s all about it. Damn it.
15. Piano no Mori – If not for the CG noodle hands and the awkward production (the 2007 version of Piano no Mori looks better than this I swear), I could have put this in the top ten for its riveting themes and relatable characters. Just why did this show is doomed for production flaws anyway?
16. Cardcaptor Sakura – the Clear Card Arc – Hey, we are in the 17th episode already. Can we focus now on the plot instead of the mundane? The action scenes are cool as hell though.
17. Black Clover – The best of the Pierrot shows this season, I think my criticism is more on the lazy pacing than the production this time. The siscon’s arc was not the most interesting part of Black Clover I guess. But Asta is good, I can watch Noelle fluster all day. Also, the granny nun is a bad ass. It’s just… the current arc feels so lazy in terms of the development.
18. Shokugeki no Souma – san no Sara – Souma and deeper political meanings do not mesh well since this cour looks like a parody of other shows focusing on student rebellion. Not a fan to be honest.
19. Magical Girl Ore – This is not intended to be good… so… I guess it is fine placing it before Tokyo Ghoul? I am not quite bored so it is a good thing?
20. Tokyo Ghoul: Re – Yep. Definitely liking the messy Root A over this schizophrenic and listless sequel. What the hell is happening to these clusterfuck of characters dying without me knowing their names anyway? Also, I am bored. Can I drop this now? Like, right now?